living with MS

A friend of mine went hiking alone during the warmer months of early autumn. Before he left, he contacted several of his friends via a group chat and let us know when and where he intended to start and the location where he planned to camp for the night. He…

Over the past decade, diagnoses of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Finland have become faster and treatments now follow the latest evidence, with about five times as many patients receiving high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) as first-line options, a study finds. Drawing on registry data, researchers found that diagnoses are…

I don’t know if anyone else’s life works this way, but my life has a soundtrack. It varies depending on my mood and what’s going on at the moment, but at any given time there’s music in my background. These days it’s usually playing on one of the personal assistant…

My husband and I are both considering early retirement. We’d discussed it for the past five years but hadn’t made any firm decisions. Last month, we decided that we needed to get serious about planning for it. We met with a financial adviser for retirement planning advice at our investment…

Navigating the uncertainty of living with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) brings a number of challenges, a study shows. That uncertainty is best described as the intangible, difficult to define space between hope — the sense that things might get better or at least not turn out so badly —…

Thanks in part to 2024 being a leap year, I’ve never published a column on Valentine’s Day. That won’t happen anytime soon, either, as the next time the holiday lands on a Thursday is 2030. While I’ve mentioned this holiday before, I’ve never written a column specifically about Valentine’s Day.

The Floodlight MS app, a digital health application used to track dexterity, walking function, and cognition in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), has been deemed cost-effective in a new analysis. Modeling simulations showed MS patients who use the app experience fewer relapses and slower disability progression, which would improve…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with oxybutynin. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. A few years ago, I spent the summer at my mom’s apartment because I’d been living in college dorms and my semester…

Experts in Australia and New Zealand have published the first consensus guidelines for the care of adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) in those countries, a step designed to help general practitioners and neurologists navigate the new MS treatment landscape. “Through these guidelines, we aim to support safe, timely and…

The rate of relapses in children with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS) tends to increase around the time that menstruation begins, a new study reports. The findings suggest hormonal changes at the onset of puberty may trigger higher disease activity. The use of oral and infusion disease-modifying therapies (DMT)…

Smoking and obesity are both independently associated with faster disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS), but when both risk factors are present together, a synergistic effect results in faster disease progression than can be explained by either alone. “Smoking and obesity significantly interacted to increase the risk of disability…

Nearly all adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) said they are highly satisfied with the Sensoready autoinjector pen to self-administer Kesimpta (ofatumumab), according to a recent U.S. survey. High satisfaction was mainly driven by the reasonable administration time and ease of use, the researchers said. The…

The other day, my kids asked if they could go through the jar of coins on my dresser. It’s been sitting there for a while because, like the majority of people with a jar of loose change, I hardly ever touch it. They hoped to find some rare coins, but…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patient Lynda Whitton has been granted MS Australia’s 2024 John Studdy Award in recognition of her advocacy, leadership, and fundraising efforts for MS and other neurological diseases in her hometown of Bunbury and across Australia. The nonprofit’s top award is given each year to people…

My cat, Lucky, runs behind me every morning and night as I walk to the kitchen cabinet for his food and treats. He meows nonstop and gazes up at me with his pleading doe eyes, convinced that I’m taking way too long to feed him. I make my way…

If it weren’t for multiple sclerosis (MS) and my practice as a lifestyle medicine physician, I’m not sure I’d be chasing after better health so vigorously. There simply wouldn’t be enough momentum to push me into action. But as there are silver linings to everything, MS has positioned me…

Women with multiple sclerosis (MS) face a significantly higher risk of mental illness during and after pregnancy than those without the disease, according to a new study that analyzed data from more than 890,000 women in Canada. Mental health issues, mostly anxiety and depression, affected 42% of women…

With three preteen boys and one soon-to-be 50-year-old child in the house, we watch a lot of animated television. On the occasion when we watch another genre, it’s usually a nature show or historical documentary. We recently watched the latter, a documentary on the golden age of piracy in…

I am a pharmacist and I teach at a pharmacy school. Being a healthcare professional, I understand the importance of taking my medication every day, which is called medication adherence. But do I really take my medication 100% of the time? Unfortunately, the answer is no. The World Health…

After today, I have only one more session of therapy for my current bout with depression. I don’t mean to imply that I’m getting chased out the door, or that more therapy won’t be recommended in the future, just that I’ve come to the end of my current program. I…

A new website aims to provide support to caregivers of people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The site, MS Care Partner Connection, brings together information on how caregivers can care for themselves while tending to those living with the disease, how to navigate the healthcare system, and how to…

I’ve written several times before about how unpleasant it was to catch giardia while serving in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army, but I wasn’t the only person to get sick from drinking contaminated water. On one mission, we’d gotten up far too early to make coffee and had some…

The beginning of the new year is an opportunity for a fresh start, change, and personal growth. Even before I was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, I struggled deeply to allow myself moments of rest and peace, and that continues today. I’m aware of those struggles, but until now…

Happy New Year! Did anyone make resolutions? I’ve always tried to make one resolution every January, though I missed a few years when I was in a rut. At the time I’d thought, what’s the point? I knew I wouldn’t stick with it. That’s because my resolutions used to feel…

I think cold weather affects me every bit as much as hot does. The difference is that instead of turning into a weak puddle, I stiffen into a rock. It doesn’t get that cold where I live, but when we do have a few chilly days in a row, I…

The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is disorienting. I don’t quite know what day it is or what I’m supposed to do while packing away a holiday and bracing for the next year. It was quiet after Christmas last month, almost as if time stood still and the…

We’ve begun a brand-new year, and normally that would mean resolutions, but as I’ve said before, I’m not exactly a resolution kind of guy. I don’t have anything against them and I do intend to better myself, but I don’t want the disappointment of failing to meet a stated goal.

The team at Multiple Sclerosis News Today has brought our audience the latest news about treatments, scientific research, and clinical trials in multiple sclerosis (MS) throughout 2024. Here is a list of the top 10 most-read articles we published this year. We look forward to continuing to serve…

For someone like me, who is retired and has three preteen children, the days surrounding Christmas and New Year’s feel like a liminal space. With no school or job to be at and no real schedule to keep, the days seem to run together without anything to orient them.

Being born and raised in south-central Texas, I’m no stranger to the heat here that dominates most of the year. But even after 25 years of living in Texas, I don’t think I’m used to it. While some people embrace and enjoy warmer weather, my body rejects it altogether, especially…